Does pot really make you think better and/or deeper?

[juneshayek]

When high, I feel I'm able to think a lot deeper. I feel like I'm a lot more intelligent and lot more able to figure out the secrets of the universe. Once I sober up, I'm left wondering whether that was real, or just a case of stoner logic.

So that's when I started writing down my thoughts while high and then reading them again while sober. What I found was, yes, my thoughts are really sharper while high, but that they also misfire sometimes.

I make logical connections that are deeper, but also more far fetched. Sometimes that's a good thing, but other times it's just really stupid.

Overall I'd say that pot has definitely improved my ability to think. After 6 months of it, I think a lot more than I used to, about all kinds of interesting and important things. But if all my thoughts are just more far fetched than they used to be, then how much is that actually worth?

What are your experiences? Please share, and by all means, be specific

 

[TeeJay1952]

For me, it allows for the silly in life to become apparent.
It is there, you just have to look for it sometimes.
Better? Why that is silly.

 

[duckTape]

I feel that my thoughts are a lot deeper indeed, but the "far fetched" phenomena you're talking about is real for me as well especially if I've medicated for a long time non stop.

So for me the deeper thinking gets a lot more accurate/realistic/useful if I don't medicate all day. But for medical reasons I'm usually vaping 24/7 (micro-dosing).

But lately I've been kind of "semi T-breaking" quite a bit and that's how I noticed. And when I say "semi t-break" with quotation marks that's because I have only vaped before bed monday-friday for a couple of weeks.

So my conclusion is that a little "sobering" gives me some sort of grounding that helps with thinking deep without it getting too far fetched.

This is just my experience

 

[rabblerouser]

definitely CAN yes, with the caveat that it definitely depends on the strain.

Now, that Platinum Bubba Kush I had definitely slowed down my thoughts.

I actually have some Black Widow x Blue Lemon Thai that the dispensary write-up I think said mental relaxation and good for deep thinking. But, I've only very lightly sampled it so far, although I do remember enjoying the few sessions I had, haven't formed a real opinion on it yet. It is quite tasty tho!

 

[juneshayek]

That sounds fun @TeeJay1952 I have had that a couple of times, but don't experience it very often.

Those are intresting observations @duckTape, @rabblerouser. I've also noticed that everything stays more interesting if you're able to limit vaping to max once or twice a day. More than that and things start get dull. As for strains, I just can't tell the difference between them. I wish I could.

Good luck with the semi-t-break, @duckTape!

 

[Baron23]

This is only my opinion, but absolutely NOT. It may well help you think that you have suddenly become brilliant, but its not the only intoxicant to do so.

Ask yourself this, would you want the pilot of an airplane you were a passenger in to be stoned? Do you think it would improve his/her cognitive abilities? If so, go ahead but I would not.

Cheers

 

[MoltenTiger]

This topic reminds me of hearing about how cannabis helps to relate seemingly disparate things. I think I saw it on some science TV show, or similar, where they were testing people, high and straight, with their abilities to link together different things. High people were really good at it comparatively.

I think there's also been studies looking at the tendency for chronic cannabis use to increase the probability of believing fabricated memories, or more aptly, the tendency to believe induced memories correlated with cannabis use. So it's possible to fundementally fool yourself unknowingly, more easily, because of cannabis. Or become fooled, too.

Given my cannabis usage and my unfortunate lack of sources, this could very well be bullshit, but it's what came to me whilst reading the thread, which seems to loosely be dancing around these same vague concepts.

Drugs that provably do make you think more efficiently, nootropics, are certainly interesting.
Does anyone have any experience?
Modafinil + cannabis is interesting.

I think cannabis is good for thinking, it helps sustain ideas and can help heighten focus. It seems harder to become distracted, perhaps.

Tryptamines really change the way you think, but I have tried some RC cannabinoids which seem to rewire the brain similarly.
There's a lot of activity in memory centres with cannabinoids.

 

[Tranquility]

To me, other than the effects I specifically seek, cannabis seems to have some effects on thinking process. One, superficial things seem more important. I notice things I never really noticed before and consider them. "Deep" thinking is not what I call it, it is more of an awareness of what is around me. Sometimes, I do get stuck rolling down one path and consider things in great detail. I have never found the thing I was trying to Grok really was worth the effort. I mean, is the fact they put plastic on the tip of a shoelace worth an hour in contemplation?

One fairly annoying thing is more difficulty putting short-term memory into longer-term storage. My problem is doing this when under the influence:

http://www.human-memory.net/types_short.html

However, this information will quickly disappear forever unless we make a conscious effort to retain it, and short-term memory is a necessary step toward the next stage of retention, long-term memory. The transfer of information to long-term memory for more permanent storage can be facilitated or improved by mental repetition of the information or, even more effectively, by giving it ameaning and associating it with other previously acquired knowledge. Motivation is also a consideration, in that information relating to a subject of strong interest to a person, is more likely to be retained in long-term memory.​

 

[CarolKing]

It would depend on the cannabis that you were using. I've had cannabis that has allowed me to experience deep thinking but cannbais that zones me out. It depends too on what frame of mind you are in to begin with.
Stay strong and vape on. Fuckcombustion.

 

[invertedisdead]

The problem is when your thoughts and ideas are automatically slandered or rejected just because they came to you whilst using cannabis. Oh well, the school system doesn't want to talk about Crick being on LSD when he discovered DNA either. The system hates entheogens because it enables free thinking which interferes with the ability to sell poisons.

The members of this board are quite intelligent, as is to be expected with those conscious enough to seek a healthier alternative to combustion in the first place; so the responses here might be a bit biased in retrospect to other sectors of cannabis culture.

Perhaps we should also ask does vaporizing pot make you think deeper?
I find the effects inquisitive and more thought provoking than the old haze of the past.

 

[rabblerouser]

This is only my opinion, but absolutely NOT. It may well help you think that you have suddenly become brilliant, but its not the only intoxicant to do so.

Ask yourself this, would you want the pilot of an airplane you were a passenger in to be stoned? Do you think it would improve his/her cognitive abilities? If so, go ahead but I would not.

Cheers

If my pilot says he's cool, I'm good with it. Surgeon too, no worries.

now, if my surgeon never smokes, and did just before MY surgery; then I'd be up in arms.

I might make an exception for Air Traffic Controller, I can't think of much else.

 

[Tranquility]

Perhaps we should also ask does vaporizing pot make you think deeper?

I think there is more knowledge required to vaporize then to combust something. Hit it and rip it is pretty easy. Toasting some flower in the afternoon for anxiety and the same at a higher temperature at night for insomnia requires some knowledge in many area to be successful.

 

[lwien]

The title of your thread and the question that you asked in your poll are two different things. In this case, "better" and "deeper" are not synonymous.

It may be able to make you think deeper but the question is, how valid are the things that you are thinking about when you are thinking deeper?

Being that the title of your thread and the title of your poll in that thread are different by a pretty wide margin, you may have answered your own question............or is that questions?

 

[Vitolo]

It does not help me think better nor does it directly cause me to think more clearly.
It's euphoric effect makes me feel better in general, so my discomfort becomes less of a focus and I can think unhampered by negative moods produced by such discomfort.
The reduction of spasms, and euphoria also helps me to sit at a task a bit longer so in that way it makes me more productive.
Credits:
This post was brought to you by 3 Volcano bags of Blue Dream

 

[stinkytofus]

Makes me more creative, then the next day nauseous

 

[unsorted]

I like this thread. It's been very entertaining to read, and I agree at least somewhat with nearly all of the opinions that have been expressed. Sometimes I think I may be having a deep thought or two when I'm vaked. But.....later, when I'm "straight", and I think again.... I have to ask myself, "If I was thinking deep thoughts, why don't I have some greater understanding now?"
So in the end, I voted No above. I think that the question being asked sorta answers itself. If the thoughts were really better or deeper, there should be no need to ask it.

Regarding having a stoned pilot or surgeon, I would only say that as a lifelong golfer, if I had to play nine holes for my life, I would rather be straight. I would prefer that my surgeon be straight too. That's not to say that I don't enjoy some vapor on the course.

 

[juneshayek]

Haha, well said @unsorted

I think everybody's making some amazing points here. This is exactly the kind of response I was hoping for!

As for myself, as I mentioned in the beginning, I've been so puzzled by this question that I started experimenting by deliberately thinking and writing things down during sessions. Later upon reading through what I'd written, this is what I found out:

1) Cannabis allows me to go a lot deeper in thought, and it feels natural, not forced. Sober, I could probably reach the same level, but it would require a lot more effort. With pot it becomes effortless

2) That said, as @lwien pointed out, deep doesn't always mean good. Sometimes I find myself contemplating meaningless things

3) That said, there are a lot of concepts that I've always had trouble understanding before, but which I've now finally nailed thanks to the influence of pot. Stuff related to e.g. Plato's idealism, the nature of matter, complexity and chaos, the human mind and other stuff which I've always thought didn't make sense, but now, after stydying them while high they do make sense. Also, I've presented things at work prepared while influenced, and based on the response I feel I did a better job because of pot.

4) That said, I've experienced coming out of a high with new opinions that I didn't have before, and I think this is where the danger lies. What I mean is, if pot just worked as a neutral means of exploring a concept objectively, that would be OK. Instead what I feel is that I'm very subjective coming out of a high, assuming somewhat that the things I concluded must be true. Problem being, if they end up being stupid thoughts, I'm going to have a harder time getting rid of them. I mean, in theory, it seems like the kind of thing that could gradually distort your sense of reality over time, which I find worrying.

So yeah, in conclusion it definitely makes be think deeper, but I don't know if my thoughts are going off on a tangent.

 

[Snappo]

...also stabilizes mood, behaviors, and emotions on a level other than that normally experienced. This fact alone is greatly responsible for the elevated intellectually/mentally focused state. Broadens my creativity and motivation for further exploration. Smooths out anger issues, anxieties, and rage.

 

[Breathemetal]

In regards to others? idk, i cant and wont speak on that, and frankly i dont care.
but as to myself? yes, it does. i am more grounded, clear, and focused, my mood is better, and i feel better overall, thus making me perform/think/act in a better way.

 

[DDave]

When high, I feel I'm able to think a lot deeper. I feel like I'm a lot more intelligent and lot more able to figure out

Absolutely!

However, I notice that I can run into a flash forget point sometimes where I come close to a perfect solution to something and then my mind goes blank. The train of thought not replace by another, just simply lost.

At that moment, severe regret at not writing down my thoughts!

 

[herbivore21]

It really depends on your medical/genetic situation, the method of consumption and material being consumed.

For example, somebody with a genetic mutation (I know of at least one example mutation like this) that limits/precludes their body's production of endocannabinoids might find that they think more clearly when they use phytocannabinoids that work on the same receptors as the missing endocannabinoids. In the example I know of (neuroligin-3 mutations), this cognitive benefit would not necessarily come as a direct result of some kind of 'smartening effect' so much as relief of debilitating symptoms that are caused/exacerbated by a deficiency in CB2 agonists (endocannabinoids such as 2-AG and AEA) to activate these receptors and provide relief for said symptoms. There is much more explanation that I could go into on this topic but time is not on my side right now.

If we move away from medical condition examples though: I find that flowers generally impart a 'foggier' effect than concentrates (and we're only talking about vaporization here, not smoking) when vaping the same amount of flower vs squishing that flower and dabbing the rosin. Edibles where THC is present give me an especially sleepy/foggy effect and are not conducive to mental sharpness. This is not necessarily going to be the case for everybody else.

Remember that extrapolative potential for current findings on the effects of cannabis is very limited. We already know of conditions where the body upregulates certain cannabinoid receptors for example - this means that there are more receptors available for the relevant endocannabinoids/phytocannabinoids to activate. If your body is in this kind of state, you should expect to see different effects from the same cannabis intake as somebody else.

There is very little data at present that is useful for extrapolation to all of our cases in terms of the effects of cannabis because as we can see, there are so many variables that need to be teased apart by researchers first!

 

[Vapor_Eyes]

I mean, in theory, it seems like the kind of thing that could gradually distort your sense of reality over time

In my view it doesn't distort your sense of reality, it only awakens you to the true nature of reality. Take the red pill...

 

[Walter Bishop]

Depends on what your definition of, "better," is.

 

[Stu]

I've edited the thread title to include the word "deeper". I decided to change the title after partaking in some monster vaporbonging sessions thinking deeply about it.

 

[lwien]

I've edited the thread title to include the word "deeper". I decided to change the title after partaking in some monster vaporbonging sessions thinking deeply about it.

Hey @Stu, how 'bout "better and/or deeper"??